via mgoblue.com In private the coaches would probably tell you they called the offense they did to protect the players, in particular Gardner, from making a fatal mistake.  The irony of course is that by calling those toothless plays they ended up putting the team, time after time, in difficult situations.  I don’t think it’s fair to blame Gibbons or Gardner or Wile anyone on the defense for this one—it’s on the coaching staff. Mudbowl >  As part of your therapy after this mess I order you to you attend the annual SAE Mudbowl Saturday morning kickoff at 10:30am: The slopfest benefits C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital once again this year. Stevie the Greek >  Steve Clarke of WTKA’s KeyBank Countdown to Kickoff has an impressive streak running.  He took Penn State yesterday and now he’s correctly predicted the winner of every Michigan game dating back to the 2011 Iowa game. Historical Tidbits from the mgoblue notes > Gallon extended his streak to 32 consecutive games with a reception. He is tied with Marquise Walker for the third-longest streak in school history, trailing only record-holder Braylon Edwards (38 games) as well as Jason Avant (35). With his fourth PAT of the contest, Gibbons passed J.D. Carlson (126 PATs, 1988-91) for the most consecutive PATs made in program history with 127. [The]…

  Props to Steve “Dr. Sap” Sapardanis for producing his decals after that game:     OFFENSIVE CHAMPION DEVIN FUNCHESS – I think Michigan has finally found their tall outside receiver they have been missing since Darryl Stonum. Let’s face it, Funchess is not going to be UM’s tight end. When blocking was needed on the line of scrimmage late in the game, Funchess was on the bench. When a touchdown pass was needed, Funchess was usually on the other end of a Devin Gardner spiral. I like the move as Funchess to me seems like a Michigan version of former USC receiver Mike Williams. Like I said last week – he’s a matchup problem waiting to happen in Michigan’s favor. When was the last time we could say that about one of the WR’s? DEFENSIVE CHAMPION FRANK CLARK – His fumble recovery ignited a huge third quarter for Michigan and the defense. Playing on the road, at night, in a hostile environment, in front of 1007,000 fans, Clark seemed to be the guy that was there to make the big play – whether it was a tackle or fumble recovery. SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION DREW DILEO – I’m giving this to Dileo not because he had 66 return yards in the game – which were certainly a decent amount. No.…

Part of building a “foundation of toughness” is having the stones to put a team away when you have a cleated foot on their throats a dozen times.   The coaches can argue they put the team in position plenty of times to win the game and players need to make plays.  That’s fair to a certain extent, but if you’re on the sideline and you can see clearly that the coaching staff has no balls, doesn’t that affect you at some point? One group that has never professed to be tough is the Michigan fanbase, including yrs truly.  Brothers and sisters, this stings BAD.    Sadly I take some solace in understanding a few weeks ago that this wasn’t a great team, but you hoped with the move of Funchess outside, and Ryan’s return and the shuffling of the offensive line, and Fitz finding more space…that just maybe…  Nope.

One hundred and twelve years ago a train pulled up in Ann Arbor with a passenger who would alter the course of Michigan football forever.   Shortly after stepping off that train Fielding Harris Yost is said to have boldly predicted that Michigan wouldn’t lose a game. On this day in Michigan Football History back in 1901, Yost was perfect through two games after pitching a 50-0 shutout of Albion in his Michigan coaching debut – He followed that with a 57-0 beating of Case in what was the 100th win in program history. That set up what would be Yost’s first real test, an October 12, 1901 battle against Indiana who gave the Wolverines a good fight in 1900 fought the Wolverines hard the previous season and clearly outweighed the Michigan line.  Audio: [display_podcast]   You can catch all of the This Week in Michigan Football History clips here….sponsored in 2013 by Ziebart of Yspilanti.  Listen to it live tomorrow on the KeyBank Countdown to kick-off on WTKA 1050AM.

I contributed the Editor’s Pick and RFUM&BFF Decal.   Take it away, Sap! OFFENSIVE CHAMPION DEVIN FUNCHESS – What I saw from Funchess on Saturday was a player coming into his own. When you become confident in your ability and stop thinking about what you want to do and just go out there and flat out do it, your game goes to a whole ‘nother level. That’s what you saw from #87. There have (obviously) been some great Tight Ends at Michigan – guys like Kramer, Mandich, Kattus, Tuman – but I don’t think ANY of them have played with the athleticism that Funchess flashed on Saturday. A matchup nightmare just waiting to happen, here’s hoping he continues to flash that magic the rest of the season! DEFENSIVE CHAMPION JAMES ROSS III – To me, JR3 was flying around all over the place on defense. He played with an infectious energy that I feel has been missing since Jake Ryan cut his hair, I mean, last played. Defense is all about playing with energy and emotion and if Ross continues to amp it up, look out when #47 returns – that unit should be stellar! SPECIAL TEAMS CHAMPION MATT WILE (PUNTER) – I’m giving this to Wile (as a punter and not as a kickoff artist) based on the fact he…

A few more from Saturday.  Thanks again to Kelley Kuehne for shooting these excellent shots: Fitz acts like he’s been there before…(which he has of course)   Funchess’ TD grab with Shabazz all over him…this led to the ButtFunch and the FunchHunch